Phoenix, Los Angeles lead list of job losers

[Source: G. Scott Thomas, Phoenix Business Journal] — Los Angeles continues to suffer the nation’s worst employment losses, with 220,000 of its jobs disappearing during the past year, but Phoenix was hit with the biggest percentage drop, according to a report issued Wednesday morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Phoenix lost 8.0 percent of its job base during the past year. The runners-up for that unhappy distinction were Detroit (down 7.8 percent) and Boise, Idaho (down 7.6 percent).

Los Angeles registered the largest raw decline of any labor market between September 2008 and the same month this year. New York City and Chicago were close behind with respective year-to-year losses of 216,400 and 207,800 jobs. Ninety-nine of the nation’s 100 biggest markets experienced declines. The sole exception was the McAllen-Edinburg area on the Texas-Mexico border, which added 3,100 jobs in the past 12 months. [Note: Read the full article at Phoenix, Los Angeles lead list of job losers.]